How Did Frederick Douglass Kill Victims Of Poverty?

Frederick Douglass, a historic civil rights activist, was born into slavery and fortunately lived long enough to see it end. He may have outlived the enslavement however, equality and direct freedom was not a result of Americanized slavery’s extinction. Douglass lived his post slavery life during the time of Jim Crow laws, enforced segregation laws. He wrote a letter to an unknown recipient, briefing describing the negative impact these laws had on blacks. Although slavery was abolished, it was believed that the act on dominance still played a big part on how whites treated blacks and still does today.

The 13th Amendment was the amendment that freed the slaves. Even though the southerners didn’t agree with this amendment. Southerners did everything in their power to keep freedmen from people able to do what a normal citizen would do. They came up with Black Codes, which are laws that prohibited african americans from being “free.” One of the black codes sections states “No negro shall be permitted to rent or keep a house within the limits of the town under any circumstances.”

One of the things that all started movement towards Civil Rights was the 13th Amendment. The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments state that all slavery within the United States must be abolished, they must have citizenship, and they must have the right to vote.. This tied the hands of plantation owners, and they were forced to let them go. The problem is that the former slaves didn’t have money and had to go into sharecropping, which ended up being very similar to slavery and they ended up going in debt and having to work more, but they still gained some freedom such as getting there own house, clothes, and food in return for their sharecropping.

“The wronged are always wrong…” (New Republic, June 24, 1916) is the opening statement to chapter four and is associated with why the Negro is blamed for their own misfortune. On page 107, Oscar Lewis mentions how the culture-of-poverty is one which arises from existing situations and becomes a “design for living”.

Black southerners were no longer considered slaves, but they were not yet free. Peonage was also known as debt slavery or debt servitude. The employer, or master, would compel the worker to pay off their debt by strict labor. In countless cases, employers would say African Americans had debt just to get them to work even though they may not have had any. They were so desperate for work, they lied and found any route to get more black labourers. African Americans were once again forced to work against their will. Convict leasing was another tactic used to create the continuation of slavery. When blacks were convicted of the smallest crimes such as doing business with a white person, spitting, leaving a spouse, or being unemployed, they were jailed, which led to more forced labor. Convict Leasing was considered far worse than pre 13th amendment slavery. Conditions were extremely dangerous for working African Americans. For weeks and weeks, men might never have seen daylight. Mines were filled with standing water with which they drank from, disease spread like a wildfire, and they were exposed to violent explosions and poisonousness gasses. The men working this convict leasing would push blacks to the limits of human capacity and to the edge of death (Slavery by Another Name). Men in peonage and convict leasing found themselves in inescapable situations that they only dreamed to get out

The definition of slavery is "a civil relationship whereby one person has absolute power over another and controls his life, liberty, and fortune." (Dictionary.com) Slavery was a huge part of our American History. It existed for over 245 years, and flourished especially in the south where there was plenty of cotton and slaves were needed to work the fields. It was during the Civil War when things really began changing for the African Americans. The war changed from focusing more on bringing the Confederate back to the Union, to freeing slaves and bringing an end to slavery. Four years after the North had won the war, the 13th amendment was ratified. This amendment freed 4 million African American slaves. In my opinion, the 13th amendment

The Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglass presents an insight into the power differences between a slave and his master. In this account , Douglass proves that slavery destroys not only the slave but also the owner. The “poison of irresponsible power” that masters hold has a damaging effect on their morals and beliefs (Douglas 39). This immense control in the hands of a person will break their kind heart and finest feelings turning them into those of a demon. Douglass uses flashbacks , deep characterization, and appeals to the emotions to address the negative effects of slavery.

When slavery was legal in the United States, many people did not know how cruelly the slaves were treated in the south. This changed when writers like Frederick Douglass, an escaped slave, wrote about how they were treated. Frederick wrote about his time as a slave in Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. [something about slave owners power] The slave owners’ methods of maintaining power over their slaves were to disgust them with freedom, the violence that they were constantly exposed to, and their lack of education.

The Civil War was one of the most immense battles in American History. The war started in 1861 and lasted for 4 years. This war was between the Union and the Confederacy. By the end of this devastating war, the Reconstruction era began. During the Reconstruction of 1865-1877, many different issues, including political, social, and economic impacted African American lives in many different ways.

In 1896 the Civil War is over, but there is still one problem going on after it (Source 1). The problem that is going on is called segregation, and it is what separates the whites and blacks. They experienced oppression and segregation still after prohibiting slavery (Source 1). With this happening they still did not do the African Americans right and two reasons why are, segregation made the treatment for them unfair and so, it broke the 14th Amendment.

Frederick Douglass began his journey in the abolitionist movement when he was asked to tell his story in front of the Massachusetts Antislavery Society (MAS). Due to his great speaking abilities he was hired as an agent for MAS. He eventually wrote an autobiography known as "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass" in 1845. Frederick Douglass described his experiences with slavery which contributed to the abolitionist movement.

Reconstruction changed race relations in the United States as illustrated by white resistance groups, black codes and sharecropping. The freeing of slaves by the thirteenth amendment was a huge step in the right direction. Blacks could now live their lives free and make their own decisions, but things weren’t perfect. White southerners were against Reconstruction and emancipation and many came together to express their resistance. These white resistance groups ranged from small local groups to widespread ones such as The Ku Klux Klan. In North Carolina there was a magistrate that beat a black man on a street. Other small groups in different states began to target and terrorize blacks, especially those who they felt were

Frederick Douglass was a good person during his lifetime for all the good things that he had done to help the world in a lot of places while he had been a slave which is very great due to the fact that he had very little to help him throughout his journey of helping the world. In my opinion I think that the greatest thing that Frederick Douglass had done was help to stop slavery. Another thing that I am very surprised of what he had done was learn how to read. This is very shocking to me that he had learned how to read because he barely had any resources to help him but he still did not give up, in fact Douglass had actually kept on pushing forward on learning how to read and he had used every resource that he could find because he knew that in order to help himself be successful in freeing the slaves and to do a lot more that would help the world.

Frederick Douglass’s “What the Black Man Wants” captures the need for change in post Civil War America. The document presses the importance for change, with the mindset of the black man being, ‘if not now then never’. Parallel to this document is the letter of Jourdon Anderson, writing to his old master. Similar to Douglas, Mr. Anderson speaks of the same change and establishes his worth as freed man to his previous slave owner. These writings both teach and remind us about the evils of slavery and the continued need for equality, change, and reform.

Richard Wright begins his biography in 1914 with a story of his never-ending curiosity and need to break the rules. Although this biography only extends through the early years of his life, Wright manages to display the harsh world that a black member of society faced in the South during the time of the Jim Crow laws. Wright explains the unwritten customs, rules and expectations of blacks and whites in the south, and the consequences faced when these rules are not followed strictly.